Jacqueline Fitzsimon
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On 8 January 1985, a 17-year-old female called Jacqueline Fitzsimon caught fire with no apparent cause at Halton Technical College, Widnes, Cheshire, England. An alleged victim of spontaneous human combustion, she subsequently died, apparently of delayed shock.
Jacqueline was a cookery student, hoping for a career in catering and had just finished a lesson. She was still wearing her cotton catering jacket, designed to be worn safely in situations where they may be exposed to heat and naked flames.
Jacqueline was walking down the stairs from the classroom, arm-in-arm with two friends, Wendy Hughes and Paula McGeever, when she complained of feeling 'unwell'. Her back was suddenly engulfed in flames. Two male students, Neil Foy and Neil Gargan, smothered the flames with their own coats. However, by the time they had done this, Jacqueline's acrylic jumper, which she was wearing beneath her catering jacket, had melted into her skin. Jacqueline complained only that she had burned her finger while trying to protect her lacquered hair.
In hospital, she was found to have 13 per cent superficial burns to her back, and was not considered seriously ill. She was reasonably cheery when visited in hospital by police officers two days after her admission. However, she died two weeks later of 'lung shock' involving inflammation of the bronchial tubes and septicaemia. This seems to have been due to delayed shock on the victim's part.
Cheshire fire prevention officer Bert Gilles said: "I have interviewed seven eyewitnesses, and so far there is no clear explanation of the fire, though spontaneous combustion is a possibility that should be examined." An inquest was held, under Cheshire coroner Gordon Glasgow. Due to the large number of witnesses, the case attracted widespread media attention.
The case was also covered by paranormal authors Jenny Randles and Peter Hough, who attended the entire inquest and did not at any time, then or subsequently, claim Fitzsimons's death was SHC. Their first-hand account of the inquest is contained in their book Death by Supernatural Causes?.
Before being engulfed in flame, Jacqueline had been passed on the stairs by two other girls, Rachel Heckle and Karena Leazer. Leazer told the inquest into Jacqueline's death that she saw a strange glowing light moving over Jacqueline's left shoulder moments before the flames appeared.
All witnesses agreed that Jacqueline's clothing had burst into flame without a single warning sign such as smoke or visible charring. Cookery lecturer Robert Carson told the coroner that all the gas rings in the classroom had been extinguished an hour before Jacqueline ignited. He also told the coroner: "I have never seen a catering jacket on fire."
The possibility of the clothing catching light from an accidentally flicked cigarette was dismissed by all. A Home Office Chemist, Philip Jones, testified that he had managed to make a cotton catering jacket identical to Jacqueline's smoulder in a forced draught, but not ignite. Cheshire Fire Brigade submitted a 30-page report on the flame-proof nature of the jacket, which was not introduced as evidence. The coroner stated that he found no evidence of SHC and the media reported it as such.
